Everitt welcomes international boost as Edinburgh prepare for Dragons

• 25 Mar 2025
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Edinburgh Rugby Head Coach Sean Everitt is looking forward to the boost provided by the return of his Scotland internationals as they prepare to face Dragons RFC at Hive Stadium this Friday night (28 March, kick-off 7.35pm).

The capital side are eager to bounce back from a narrow defeat to Benetton in Treviso last weekend. A win against the Welsh side would significantly improve Edinburgh’s chances of climbing back into the top eight of the league standings.

“We’ve got the balance of those internationals available for selection this weekend, so it’s great to have them back home, and they’ve certainly fitted in very well to training this week,” said Everitt.

“We’ve got to obviously manage their load going forward, but it will take it week-for-week for now.

Everitt confirmed that the return of key players such as Duhan van der Merwe, Jamie Ritchie and Darcy Graham.

Meanwhile the return of hooker Dave Cherry allows for rotation, with Ewan Ashman taking a week off. Similarly, Grant Gilchrist’s availability means Sam Skinner will be rested this week.

Despite the late loss in Italy, where Edinburgh led until the final moments, Everitt was impressed with the team’s effort against a strong Benetton side featuring returning Italian internationals.

“I think the guys that played in Italy put a lot of effort in, and we backed the same team that did well against Munster. Obviously disappointing at the end of the game to do so much right in the game and not get the result at the end,” said Everitt.

“So that was disappointing, but you’ve got to take the positive out of it. I thought this group has grown really well, and obviously the performance that we put in there, although not perfect, we were probably unlucky to not come away with the result.”

Focusing on the upcoming match against Dragons RFC, Everitt highlighted the need to address the execution in the final moments that cost them victory in Treviso.

Set-piece will be a key area of focus for Edinburgh as they aim to return to winning ways at home, where they have enjoyed a strong record this season.

“I think it was quite obvious at the end of the game when you look how the game finished. We lost that line-out, but that wasn’t the only line-out, so our set-piece struggled.

“It’s a bit unusual for this team to struggle at line-out time, especially with the calibre of players that we’ve got.”

Looking ahead, Everitt emphasised the team focus on their own performance rather than league standings.

He added: “We know what we need to do: win every United Rugby Championship game we can. We have a good run of fixtures, and while we’re aware of other teams’ schedules, we don’t want to rely on their results. It’s just a shame we didn’t secure the four points that were within our grasp in Italy.”